Top 10 Free MOBA Games

Are you the competitive type? Do you like to crush your friends with every kind of weapon, spell or minion? Then there are a couple of things you should know of: first, you have a crazy love for MOBA games, and second, you’re going to run out of friends really soon. But don’t worry, there’s an endless supply of faceless dudes online waiting to be crushed, so the only problem is choosing the right games to do so. Here are our suggestions, our Top 10 Free MOBA Games.

When you hear “Facebook game”, what usually comes to your mind? Social garbage, most likely, right? But times are slowly changing – let me stress the slowly – and we’re finally getting some decent games, such as Dragons and Titans. This game offers 5v5 matches that usually last between 10 to 20 minutes, with every player controlling one of 17 unique dragons. This game is very easy to get into but as is the case with most MOBAs, only the more devoted players will become the best at it.

Monday Night Combat was so cool that it spawned a free-to-play sequel. Super Monday Night Combat is one of the few MOBAs that go for a third-person view and offer a comic art style that isn’t that far from Team Fortress 2. Its love of bacon is also commendable and this is a funny game, but we fear that time isn’t being too kind on it, with most players deserting to other, more high-profile MOBAs – you probably know which ones we’re talking about.

8 – INFINITE CRISIS

This one is so fresh that you can almost smell Joker’s facepaint. Turbine’s first entry in the MOBA genre is a promising one, but not due to originality, since it looks a bit too much like League of Legends for its own good – well, like most MOBAs do. But having a strong cast of characters, some interesting maps with destructible objects and events that change the terrain, as well as being accessible both to new and veteran players isn’t a bad starting point. But hopefully the number of champions will quickly rise, because the current dozen is really, really a meager offer.

TDawngate is Electronic Arts new attempt at the free-to-play MOBA genre, after the unsuccessful Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes. While this game won’t win any awards for originality – I mean, it looks like every other MOBA out there – it just looks very solid and addictive, even during closed beta. The spirit wells are a nice feature, providing extra resources for the team that controls them, so you have to keep an eye out for them since they can tip the balance of a battle. Dawngate has a lot of room to grow and could be one of the top MOBA games of the year.

AirMech is just the kind of game we love. It’s a low profile, browser-based affair that came out of nowhere and managed to outshine plenty of big-budget MOBAs. The great thing about it is that it’s so frantic, exciting and capable of getting you addicted to it for a really long time. The matches are usually short and provide a great distraction for players that only have short bursts of time to play.

Prime World is the creation of Nival, a Russian studio known for acclaimed strategy games Etherlords and Silent Storm. The best thing about this free MOBA game is that it’s not just that, it’s way more: it blends the usual gameplay with RPG and strategy elements that offer it a depth most of the other MOBAs lack. And it also helps that it’s already highly polished even during closed beta testing, as well as having some quality graphics and voice work. Prime World is a great surprise and one that deserves a lot more attention than it is getting so far.

4 – HEROES OF NEWERTH

Heroes of Newerth is always there, tapping you on your shoulder, trying to catch your attention and waiting for a slip from the big guys. And it really deserves your attention, since it’s a very accomplished MOBA game that became even better when all heroes, 107 at the time, became completely free to all players. At the time of writing, Heroes of Newerth is seeing the number of concurrent players online peaking, so this is a good sign for a game that you should definitely try when you want a break from the LoLs and the Dotas.

There’s no denying that Hi-Rez Studios knows how to deliver a great competitive experience. Isn’t that right, Tribes Ascend players? And it’s also a good thing that they’re not trying to copy the competition. By offering a very unusual third-person view for this kind of game, Smite is already playing it different from League of Legends and Dota, while the mythical setting and some innovative features throw this one to the top of our list.

Since launching in 2009, League of Legends has been the MOBA name that everyone knows about. It went through a shaky start but quickly grew into a popularity phenomenon. With 112 champions at the moment and a seemingly endless appeal that draws millions of players daily, League of Legends is also known for a harsh community that isn’t very friendly to beginners. And so far it didn’t have great competition, but now there’s something called…

… Dota 2. The sequel to the mod that started it all is designed by IceFrog, developer of Defense of the Ancients with the priceless support of Valve. Even during the testing phase, this game already sported a huge following and it’s a great thing to know that all Dota 2 heroes are acessible on release, 105 to be more specific. Dota 2 seems to offer more depth and a more rewarding gameplay than League of Legends, but this won’t be consensual, so remember this is just our take on the best MOBA games.

There are other games we would love to tell you about such as Sins of a Dark Age, but the pesky NDA police would come knocking at our door. Maybe next time, then. Meanwhile, leave your opinion about this top in the comments and tell us which MOBA games are the best for you. And we’ll see you next time.